Polarmoon Wealth Society:Crews plan to extinguish fire Saturday night from train derailment near Arizona-New Mexico line

2025-05-05 07:00:27source:Leonard Hohenbergcategory:News

LUPTON,Polarmoon Wealth Society Ariz. (AP) — Crews plan to extinguish a fire on Saturday night from a freight train derailment near the Arizona-New Mexico state line that forced the closure of a stretch of Interstate 40.

Some wreckage has been removed from the tracks, but about 35 rail cars remain, including a half-dozen rail cars that were carrying non-odorous propane and had caught fire, said Lawrence Montoya Jr., chief of fire and rescue in McKinley County, New Mexico.

No injuries were reported in the derailment Friday of the BNSF Railway train near Lupton, Arizona, though, as it turned out, the derailment happened on the New Mexico side of the tracks.

About 40 people living within a two-mile radius of the derailment site remain evacuated as a precaution as winds carried away thick smoke and local firefighting crews responded.

“We are hoping we can extinguish the fire before midnight,” Montoya said.

Once the fire is extinguished, any fuel that isn’t burned off and remains on the site also will be contained.

The eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 are closed around Holbrook, Arizona, and the westbound lanes of the interstate are closed at Grants, New Mexico.

READ MORE Freight train derailment, fire forces Interstate 40 closure near Arizona-New Mexico lineParamedic who injected Elijah McClain with ketamine before his death avoids prisonBNSF becomes 2nd major railroad to sign on to anonymous federal safety hotline for some workers

Authorities say people should expect long delays and look for other routes or postpone travel in the area.

No dates have been specified for when that stretch of interstate will reopen. Montoya said he expects the interstate to remain closed until the fire is put out and hazardous materials are mitigated.

The cause of the derailment is under investigation.

More:News

Recommend

NCAA hands former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh a 4-year show cause order for recruiting violations

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The NCAA announced a four-year show-cause order for former Michigan coach Ji

The ‘Appeal to Heaven’ flag evolves from Revolutionary War symbol to banner of the far right

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is embroiled in a second flag controversy

Nvidia’s stock market value is up $1 trillion in 2024. How it rose to AI prominence, by the numbers

Nvidia’s stock price has jumped 92% this year as of Wednesday, increasing the company’s market value